Clamping ring



J. R. PROCTOR CLAMP-ING RING A ril 1, 1941.

Filed May 16, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet l April 1, 1941.

' J; PROCTOR CLAMPING BING Filed May 16,- 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Job/2 P Proc/ar 4/. a

Patentecl Apr. 1, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CLAMPING RING John R. Proctor, Bayonne, N. J., assignor to Atlas Steel Barrel Corporation, Bayonne, N. J a corporation of New Jersey Application May 16, 1935, Serial'No. 21,890

3 Claims.

tain the two in tightly sealed position. Various as are divers means of maintaining the ring in i its closed or clamping position.

An object of the invention is to facilitate the positioning and removal of such rings about the drum and drum head assembly by providing mechanism which may be manually actuated with great ease to draw the ends of the ring together about the drum bead and drum head flange and which, after performing this operation, functions to automatically retain the ring ends in tightly closed position without the use of other looking or holding means.

Various and sundry other objects and advantages will appear from the specifications taken in conjunction with the drawings, wherein:

Figure l is a plan view of the ring end closing mechanism, the ring being positioned over the drum head assembly ready for closing;

Figure 2 illustrates the mechanism in closed position;

Figure 3 is a section through the drum and drum head assembly;

Figure 4 is an elevation of one element of the ring end closing mechanism;

Figure 5 is a plan view of a modified form of closing mechanism in open ring position;

Figure 6 is a plan view of the same modified form in ring closed position;

Figure 7 is a plan View of a third modification, the parts being shown in ring closed position;

Figure 8 is an elevation of Figure '7;

Figure 9 is a plan view of a secondary looking or holding means, applicable to the modification disclosed in Figures '7 and 8, and 4 Figure 10 is a section through lfl-Hl of Figure 9. 7

Referring now to Figures 1-4, illustrating a preferred embodiment of my invention, immediate reference being had to Figure 3, the numeral l0 illustrates a conventional drum having a rolled bead I2 extending around its upper open circumference. The drum head l4 extends upwardly around its circumference to form a wall It which is rolled over as at l8 to provide a flange adapted to seat upon the bead I2 of the drum. It is customary to position a gasket 20 between the drum bead anddrum head flange to insure more perfect sealing when the drum is closed.

To maintain this .drum and drum head assembly tightly closed a split channeled clamping ring 22 is provided. Adjacent the ends of the ring are inwardly extending lugs 24 and 28 which may be formed integral with the ring itself or may be secured thereto as by welding. "Pivoted to the lug 24 at28 is a generally arcuate link 30 and a substantially similar link 32 is pivoted at 34 to the lug 26. As stated, each of these links is generally arcuate in contour and the concave side of each link is provided with adjacent arcuate seats, as indicated at 3B, 38, 40, and 42.

The free ends of links 30 and 32 are pivoted to substantially diametrically opposite marginal points 44 and 46 of an actuating disc 48. This disc'is centrally apertured as indicated at 53 and vertical ears 52 are provided for a purpose to be brought out more fully hereinafter. The free ends of the links are regarded herein as the ends which are free to move with reference to the clamping ring.

As will be apparent from Figure 1, the ring 22 is first positioned about the assembled drum and drum head in such manner that when the ring ends are drawn together the sides of the channel will encompass the drum bead and drum head flange to force the drum head tightly down over the gasket 20. Some sort of tool, such as a screwdriver or other handy unit, is then inserted in the aperture 50 of the actuating disc and the disc is rotated in a clockwise direction. Leverage for such action when using so simple a tool is greatly increased by means of the ears 52. Rotation of the actuating disc 48 in a clockwise direction draws the pivot points of links 30 and 32 toward one another to close the ends of the ring. Figure 2 illustrates the mechanism in fully closed position and it will be noted that the free end of lever 30 falls into the seat provided by the concave portion 40 of lever 42. In similar manner the free end of lever 32 falls into the concave seat 36 of lever 30. The links lie in the same plane and this seated position of the linkends marks the termination of the locking or closing movement. The other two concave seats 38 and 42 on the links 30 and 32, respectively, cooperate to form a composite annulus substantially concentric with the centrally apertured actuating disc 48 and in overlapping relation thereto.

An important feature of the mechanism resides in the fact that the linkage, having drawn the ring ends together as illustrated in Figure 2, becomes so arranged that the forces resulting from the tendency, inherent or otherwise, of the ring to open operate through the linkage on the actuating disc 48 in such manner as to constantly tend to rotate the same in a clockwise direction, thereby retaining the ring in fully closed position against any tendency of the ends to fly open. As can be clearly seen from Figure 2, the resultant moment arm operating about the center of the actuating disc 48 tends to rotate the same in a clockwise direction. The ring end opening force is transmitted from the pivot points 28 and 34 to the pivot points 44 and 46, and so long as the moment arms of both forces tend to rotate the actuating disc in a clockwise direction, or so long as the resultant moment arm tends to rotate said disc in a clockwise direction, the oppositely directed resultant opening forces being equal, there will be a constant pull on the actuating disc tending to maintain the ring ends in closed position.

Drill holes 54, 56, and 53 are provided in lug 24, disc 43, and link 32, respectively. These drill holes are so positioned in their respective elements that when the locking mechanism is in closed position they are alined with one another and adapted to receive a sealing wire, such as is indicated at Gila, which serves to insure against unauthorized tampering with the drum contents during shipment of the same. The closing force constantly exerted by the ring end closing mechanism is in no way dependent upon abutment of the said mechanism against the side wall N5 of the drum head. As indicated in Figure 2,tthe mechanism may be free and clear of the wall l6 when in fully closed position as well as during the closing movement.

A somewhat modified form of the invention is illustrated in Figures 5 and 6 wherein ring 60' is provided with lugs 62 and 64. To the under side of lug E52 is pivoted, as at 65, a cam shaped link 68. An arcuate link 70 is pivoted at I2 to lug 64 and the free ends of links 68 and 10 are pivoted to a central actuating link i4. Depending lugs 16 are provided on the under side of actuating link i4 and serve the same purpose as the ears 52 in actuating disc 48. When the link i4 is rotated by some convenient tool, the force is transmitted through links 68 and 10 to draw the ring ends together to the position illustrated in Figure 6. During such movement the cam face 18 of link 88 is drawn across and rocked about the wall It of the drum head, thereby forming an anchor limiting outward movement of the closing mechanism during the closing operation. The small end of cam shaped link 68 is drawn up into the seat 89 provided by the concave side of arcuate link Ill while the latter is drawn down about the small end of the other link. It will be seen from Figure 6 that the moment arms through which the forces from pivot points 66 and i2 operate upon the actuating link 14 tend to rotate the said actuating link in a clockwise direction, thereby exerting a constant force tending to retain the ring ends in closed position.

Not only do the resultant moment arms tend to retain the locking mechanisms in closed position, but it will be apparent that any force tending to spread the links into ring end open position must operate against a distinct frictional resistance to unseat each link from within the concave seat provided in the other link. These two features combined provide a dual locking arrangement which insures against ring ends flying open as a result of any normal mishap. The ease with which the mechanism is actuated will be apparent, a mere flip of the actuating member, the disc 48 in one instance and the link 16 in the other, suflicing to complete the closing and locking of the ring ends together. The automatic locking feature constitutes a distinct improvement on the locking mechanisms heretofore devised.

In Figures 7-10 a third modification has been illustrated. This structure does not differ in principle in any way from the structures heretofore explained. It has been found advisable, where heavy gauge metal drums are used, to provide a lever 82 for operating the actuating disc 84. The inherent resistance offered to closing movement of the rings when heavy gauge metal is used is so great that use of a lever facilitates the closing movement substantially. A stronger assembly is provided by the use of a second disc 86 centrally alined with disc 84 and pivoted to the upper sides of links 88 and 90, which links are precisely the same as links at and 32 and are pivoted to lugs 92 and 94. While the dual lock ing action of this mechanism is the same in principle as has been described in conjunction with the other modifications, it is sometimes advisable on very heavy gauge metal drums to provide an additional means for insuring retention of the ring ends in closed position. Such mechanism has been illustrated in Figures 9 and 10 and consists of an inwardly extending lug 96 secured to the upper side of the ring, the lug being provided at its inner end with a depending flange 98. When the lever 82 has been moved across the face of the drum to bring the mechanism into closed position it may be positioned under the lug 96, the depending-flange 98 functioning as a stop against opening movement thereof. Here too it is immaterial whether or not any portion of the closing and locking mechanism seats against the wall N5 of the drum head, either during the closing movement or upon the completion thereof when the elements are locked in closed position.

Having disclosed certain embodiments of my improved mechanism, others will be apparent to those skilled in the art and for that reason I wish to limit myself only within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. The combination with a split channeled clamping ring having lugs fixedly associated with the ends thereof and extending inwardly, of links pivoted to the under side of said lugs, each link being of generally arcuate contour on one side and having on its opposite side a pair of adjacent concave seats, a disc pivotally connected at substantially opposite marginal portions thereof to the under side Of said links adjacent the free ends thereof and operable on rotation to draw said links into superposed relation therewith, the free ends of each link fitting into one of the concave seats on the inside of the other link, the remaining concave seat of each link forming an annulus concentric with said disc, thereby drawing the ring ends together and 10cking the same in position.

2. The combination with a split channeled clamping ring of links pivoted to the ends thereof, each link being of generally arcuate contour on one side and having on its opposite side a pair of adjacent concave seats, and means pivotally connected to said links and operable on rotation to draw said links into superposed relation therewith, the free ends of each link fitting into one of the concave seats on the inside of the other link, the remaining concave seat of each link forming an annulus, thereby drawing the ring ends together and locking the same in position.

3. The combination with a split channeled clamping ring having lugs fixedly associated with the ends thereof and extending inwardly, of links pivoted to said lugs, each link being of generally arcuate contour on one side and having on its opposite side a pair of adjacent concave seats, means pivotally connected to said links and operable on rotation to draw said links into superposed relation therewith, the free ends of each link fitting into one of the concave seats on the inside of the other link to thereby draw the ring 10 ends together and lock the same in position.

JOHN R. PROCTOR. 

